Zane Jamahl Hutton-Lewis, 34, was snared as he attempted to smuggle 43.8kg of the Class B drug from Thailand on 21 January 2025.
After being arrested by Border Force officers, a probe was launched by the Scottish Organised Crime Partnership – a team of officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) and Police Scotland.
Hutton-Lewis, of London, was jailed for 12 months at Paisley Sheriff Court on Friday.
His sentence comes after the NCA warned that Brits caught smuggling cannabis from Thailand will have to pay huge new fines or face up to two years behind bars.
The NCA has been working with Thai authorities to reduce the number of air passengers smuggling cannabis into the UK.
In 2023, 142 cannabis smugglers were caught arriving in the UK. In 2024, that number rocketed to 801 – a 464% increase.
The figure rose again in 2025 to 976 – with 2026 on track to be even worse with 600 air passenger couriers arrested at UK airports in the first six months alone.
Under the new fines regime, which started on 17 June, smugglers will have to pay Thai Customs 30,000 Baht (around £680) per kilo of cannabis.
The NCA said the “average” smuggler is caught in Thailand with 26 kilos – equalling a fine of £17,680, and, if not paid will lead to a criminal prosecution with up to two years in jail.
Read more from Sky News:
Teens sentenced for murdering boy in beach knife attack
Ann Widdecombe ‘hit 21 times with hammer’
Beki Wright, head of the NCA’s borders threat team, warned would-be couriers – who are normally recruited on social media – to think again if they are tempted to smuggle cannabis from Thailand.
She said: “You will be kept in Thai detention until you have found the money to pay or for two years.
“The crime groups that paid you to smuggle it will leave you high and dry.
“If convicted, you face potentially life-changing jail sentences both in the UK and especially abroad. You’ll also have a criminal record, which could wreck future job prospects and your ability to travel abroad.
“It just isn’t worth the risk.”
